Methods and system to assist search and interception of lost objects

ABSTRACT

Devices and methods for aiding a large area search for objects. A searcher transmits interrogation signals of long range relative to the return range to be received by a device at the target object. The target device responds with a ping signal modified to be more easily found by means of information contained in the interrogation signal. The information may be in the nature of the received signal or data encoded and embedded. The target device may use a microprocessor to do complex operations using the information from the interrogation signal and other information. Detection of a weak ping is facilitated by such means as being beamed in the direction of the interrogation, arriving at a predictable time, or having parameters adapted to values requested by the searcher. The object is then intercepted with help of the ping or other signals from the device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application in a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.14/469,825 filed Aug. 27, 2014 by the present inventor.

This application and application Ser. No. 14/469,825 claim the benefitof provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/977,227 filed Apr. 9, 2014by the present inventor.

Each patent application identified above is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Present Invention

The field of the present invention is location and interception ofobjects in unknown locations

Background Concerning the Need and Use of the Current Invention

Aircraft lost over water are often extremely difficult to locate.Location is important because data and voice information recorded on thevehicle and physical evidence from the wrecked vehicle are essential toinvestigation of the cause of the loss. Larger aircraft are currentlyrequired to carry acoustic pingers attached to their recording devicesthat are intended to allow searchers to locate not only the recordingdevice but the lost aircraft itself. Because of the vast spaces in largebodies of water such as oceans, the initial discovery of even theapproximate location is the crucial step. The search can take a longtime and the power source of the pinger is subject to exhaustion beforethis step is accomplished. Because of limitations concerning space,weight and power conservation the range of pinger devices is limited.This limitation is a major factor in the difficulty of location.

The current invention is directed to a solution of this difficulty.Because a searcher can use substantial and renewable power resources, itis possible to broadcast a signal from the searcher to the pinger devicewith much greater ease and at a much greater range than from the pingerto the searcher. Even before the searcher has made any discovery thatthe pinger is in its neighborhood, the pinger can be enabled to modifythe ping signal on the basis of information gained from the receipt ofthe broadcast interrogation signal. Doing this in a way that increasesthe ability of the searcher to discover the hard to find ping signal isa solution to this difficult location problem and the principle subjectof the current invention.

This is distinct from just making a more effective pinger, because itworks in the phase of the search where one way communication only isestablished and uses that communication to facilitate discovery. Thereare many ways the ping signal can be modified for this purpose. Some ofthem are described in the embodiments disclosed. The most salient onesinclude timing the ping to arrive at a time predictable by the searcher,beaming the ping in the direction from which the interrogation signalarrived and implementing the ping with parameters requested by thesearcher. This last method is important because the searcher with itsgreater resources may know its own best modes of search and have currentinformation about the search environment. If information based on thatis broadcast and received by the pinger device, then the ping can beadapted with the benefit of information available to either the searcheror the pinger.

There are many kinds of information that can be taken from theinterrogation signal for the purpose of determining the best mode oftransmitting pings. First, there is the fact of receipt of theinterrogation signal itself, distinct from any information about thenature of the signal. This can initiate pinging or wake up portions ofthe pinger device. This is primarily a way of conserving power to enablea more robust energy budget for powerful pinging and for extending thelife of the power source. Second, the ping device can measure parametersof the incoming interrogation signal such as the intensity and thedirection of arrival. This has many uses in determining the best mode ofpinging. Third, the search device can encode and embed information inthe interrogation signal. This can carry useful information about thelocation of the searcher, time of transmission of the interrogationsignal, ping characteristics requested by the searcher, the currentsearch environment and other things known to the searcher.

Existing systems using transceiver technology often have interactivemethods of facilitating communication, but they do not use the abilityto broadcast into a large space in an effort to locate a difficult todetect responder having the ability to tailor its response on the basisof the interrogation. They, especially, do not use this technology asthe basis of an extended long term search for an object requiring alarge number of interrogations from different locations to have asignificant chance of being located.

Prior Patents to be Distinguished from the Current Inventive Concept

US Patent Application 2013-0070556 to Huskamp discloses a system forreflecting acoustic signals directed to a sunken aircraft. Itcontemplates passive reflectors with specific frequency characteristicsto allow identification of the reflected signals without use of powerallowing unlimited life. If differs from the current invention in nothaving a signal receiver and a signal transmitter and in not modifyingthe return signal.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,566 (A) to Imasaka concerns a transponder whichreturns a signal with a fixed delay. The delay is used to provide anoffset to the distance measurement for a device using the transponder.This invention is not concerned with lost or submerged objects and doesnot vary the return signal.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,469,654 (B1) to Winner concerns a transponder landingsystem and discusses a protocol for increasing the accuracy of trackingthe transponder. It discusses a “Dual Diversity Antenna System” in thebackground section wherein a transponder with two antennas returns asignal using only the antenna which receives the stronger interrogationsignal. This differs from the current invention in that it is notconcerned with lost or submerged objects as herein defined. The purposeis to maintain continuous and reliable communication during maneuvers ofthe aircraft. The selection of the antenna for response is not avariation of a parameter of the ping signal as herein defined; becausethe antenna selection is not done to vary the signal in any way, but isdone specifically to maintain an unvarying signal despite changes in theattitude of the aircraft.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,646,330 (B2) to Karr concerns a two way communicationsystem where the remote transponder makes its return signal coherentwith the interrogation signal. It describes a wake-up process toperiodically listen for interrogations, which is distinct for a lowpower listening mode. The purpose of this system is to provide reliabletwo way communication of identification codes and other information withvery low power use by the remote device and not to provide initialdiscovery of the remote device by the interrogating device. It is notconcerned with lost or submerged objects as herein defined.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,624,774 (B2) to De Rosa concerns a device to locate anassociated device. It uses a low power listening receiver to wake up thedevice on receipt of an interrogation. It is not concerned with lost orsubmerged objects as herein defined. The patent is directed to a methodof measuring the relative locations of the device and making thisinformation available to the search device.

The differences described above between the current inventive conceptand the patents cited are only illustrative and there are many otherdistinctions in each case.

Prior Patent for Reference

The patent in this section is referenced to provide clarity to the useof various technologies used in the embodiments described herein and toprovide further enablement in the implementation of those embodiments.

The patent listed in this section is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in areference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent orcontrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definitionof that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term inthe reference does not apply.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,864 (A) to Hofgen describes the use of one wayranging from multiple locations to calculate the relative location of auser device from the signals of multiple satellites. This is the basictechnology of GPS systems. The technology is here used in an embodimentto calculate the relative location of a target device to a moving searchdevice on the basis of the receipt of multiple interrogation signals.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to methods and devices for locating aobject lost in a space which is large in comparison to the range of anassociated signaling device and intercepting that object The object maybe submerged in a medium denser than air. A searching device which islooking for the lost object sends interrogating signals from successivepositions which are typically able to be received at long ranges becauseof the availability of a large or renewable power source such as thepower generated by a ship or other vehicle carrying the search device.

The broadcast search signal when received provides a target device withinformation about the search device that is attempting to detect a pingsignal transmitted from the target device. The information may beinherent in the nature of the interrogation signal, embedded as data inthe signal or simply the presence of an interrogation signal. Theinformation may be combined with local sensor information and changed bya local microprocessor, but remains a function of information from theinterrogation signal. The ping signal is modified on the basis of thisinformation to allow detection with greater probability or at a greaterrange.

The information received by the target device includes signalcharacteristics such as signal strength and direction. The processingmay include decoding embedded location data, combining multipleinterrogation signals, calculating direction of signals from phase dataand calculation of signal transit times. The modification of the pingsignals may include producing signals with parameters requested by thesearch device, beaming the signal in the direction of the search device,or sending signals timed to arrive in a window predictable by the searchdevice. Certain embodiments may use interrogation information includingthe mere arrival of an interrogation signal to conserve power by nottransmitting ping signals unlikely to be detected. After detectionfurther signals which may or may not be similar to the ping signal areused to track and intercept the object.

The power of ping signals is limited by various factors includinginaccessibility of the target device for power renewal and the passageof time since the device was lost. In addition in many situation it maybe desirable to conceal the device to avoid its detection by otherparties. This may motivate low power levels and the need to make as fewping signals as possible.

The current invention is also directed to intercepting the object oncelocated on the basis of the ping signal. Further signals which may ormay not rely on the parameters of the original ping signal can beemitted and an interception can be guided by those signals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed hereinwill be better understood with respect to the following drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is an overall elevation of an embodiment and the situation inwhich it is employed. It shows a search vessel 40, a search device 41,the surface of a large body of water 42, interrogation signals 43, alost object which in this case is a crashed aircraft 44, the bottom ofthe body of water 45, a target device 46, and a ping signal 47.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the target device of an embodiment which issuitable for the situation of FIG. 1. It shows an interrogation signal43, a target device 46, a ping signal 47, an interrogation signalreceiver 50, a ping signal transmitter 51, a power source 52, transferof seeker information 53, and a power control 54.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the target device of an embodiment whichadds a microprocessor. It shows an interrogation signal 43, a targetdevice 46, a ping signal 47, an interrogation signal receiver 50, a pingsignal transmitter 51, transfer of seeker information 53, amicroprocessor 62, and control signals 63.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the target device of an embodiment whichadds an absolute clock to the embodiment of FIG. 3. It also shows theuse of embedded seeker information. It shows an interrogation signal 43,a target device 46, a ping signal 47, an interrogation signal receiver50, a ping signal transmitter 51, a microprocessor 62, and controlsignals 63, an absolute clock 71, and transfer of embedded seekerinformation 72.

FIG. 5 is an overall elevation of an embodiment and the situation inwhich it is employed. In this situation a search vessel sendsinterrogation signals from multiple locations and the target devicecombines embedded search information from the signals to calculate therelative positions of the target device and the projected position ofthe search vessel and search device when a ping would be received. Itshows search vessels 40, search devices 41, the surface of a large bodyof water 42, interrogation signals 43, a lost object which in this caseis a crashed aircraft 44, the bottom of the body of water 45, a targetdevice 46, a ping signal 47 and the projected position of the searchvessel 80.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an embodiment which uses multiplesensors and multiple transducers to determine the direction of aninterrogation signal and to direct ping signals toward the source of theinterrogation signal. It shows an interrogation signal 43, a targetdevice 46, a ping signal 47, transfer of seeker information 53, amicroprocessor 62, interrogation signal sensor 81, a ping signaltransducer 82, an interrogation signal multi-sensor 83, a ping signalmulti-transducer 84, a multiphase interrogation signal receiver 85, aping timing and phase signal 86, and a multiphase ping signaltransmitter 87.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an embodiment which uses multiplesensors to determine the direction of an interrogation signal. It has amicroprocessor which combines information, which is here seekerinformation but not embedded seeker information, with information fromlocal sensors to calculate the relative positions of the search deviceand the target device. It then calculates the transit time of a pingenabling the transmission of the ping to be scheduled to arrive at apredetermined delay from the transmission of the interrogation signal.It shows an interrogation signal 43, a target device 46, ping signal 47,a ping signal transmitter 51, transfer of seeker information 53, amicroprocessor 62, control signals 63, an interrogation signalmulti-sensor 83, a multiphase interrogation signal receiver 85, anaccelerometer 91, and a pressure sensor 92.

FIG. 8 shows a scenario for use of the device of an embodiment by lawenforcement. It shows a device 100 with transmitter 101, receiver 102and a processor 103. A law enforcement target 104 sits with lawenforcement agents 105 and 106. A briefcase 107 to receive the devicetravels 109 to another location 111 with another law enforcement target112.

FIG. 9 shows detection by a search vehicle 114-7 with signals 118-9 fromthe location 111 in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 shows detection of a moving target vehicle 130-2 and 135 by afixed search vehicle 133 using signals 134 and 136.

FIG. 11 shows the interception of a target vehicle 135 at a location 141by a search vehicle 133 assisted by additional vehicles 140.

FIG. 12 shows additional methods of interception of a target vehicle 135by search vehicles 151 and 153 using tire spikes 152, paint throwing154, disablement 157, capture 158 and destruction 159.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Definitions

Embedded seeker information, throughout this specification and in theclaims, refers to information that is encoded in the interrogationsignal by the search device. It may be used by the target device todetermine one or more parameters of the ping signal. It may include thetime of transmission, location of the search device, ping parametervalues known to the search device to be effective in a particularsituation, a description of environmental variables, a description ofthe search device, or other information.

Interrogation signal, throughout this specification and in the claims,refers to a signal broadcast by a search device or by a deviceassociated with one or more search devices. The signal is intended toinform a target device of the presence of the search device or to passinformation to the target device to be used to initiate or modify thetransmission of ping signals. An interrogation signal may be implementedby acoustic or electromagnetic waves including visible or invisiblelight waves.

Interrogation signal information, throughout this specification and inthe claims, refers to information that is embedded seeker information,seeker information, the fact of receipt of an interrogation signal, or acombination thereof.

Lost object, throughout this specification and in the claims, refers toan object being searched for with an expectation that many interrogationsignals from different locations will be required to successfully detecta ping signal in response and whose location is unknown in a region thatis substantially larger in at least one dimension than the range atwhich a ping signal can be detected.

Microprocessor, throughout this specification and in the claims,includes any computer and non-computer circuitry with a complexityrequiring at least 100 logical gates for implementation.

Parameters of the interrogation signal, throughout this specificationand in the claims, are measurements made at the target device of one ormore of (a) arrival time relative to a known or estimated transmissiontime or relative arrival time of different components of theinterrogation signal, (b) signal strength, (c) signal direction or (d)other characteristics of the interrogation signal to be used todetermine one or more parameters of the ping signal. The fact of receiptof an interrogation signal in itself is specifically excluded in thisdefinition from being a parameter of the interrogation signal.

Parameters of a ping signal, throughout this specification and in theclaims, refers to time of transmission; frequency; pulse timing, length,and shape; embedded data; embedded identification; direction ofemission; amplitude; and other characteristics of the signal that mayaffect the probability of detection, range of detection, or the ease ofdetection of the ping signal.

Ping signal, throughout this specification and in the claims, refers toa signal emitted by a target device to be detected by a search device.Successful detection and identification of a ping signal at leastapproximately locates the target device. After detection of a pingsignal the search device may continue to attempt to detect additionalping signals or other search methods may be enabled after theapproximate location is determined. A ping signal may be implemented bysound or electromagnetic waves including visible or invisible lightwaves.

Seeker information, throughout this specification and in the claims,refers to one or more of embedded seeker information or of interrogationsignal parameters,

Search device, throughout this specification and in the claims, means adevice to detect a ping signal.

Submerged object, throughout this specification and in the claims,refers to an object which is covered by material denser than air whichimpedes its discovery or location by means more convenient thandetecting a ping signal. The material may be water but may also be othercontinuous or discontinuous, liquid or solid substances such as snow,ice, mud, earth, rock or rubble. It may limit the approach of a searchdevice to areas outside the material and, thereby, require a minimumdetection range for successful detection.

Target device, throughout this specification and in the claims, means adevice associated with the searched for object. The target devicereceives interrogation signals and emits ping signals.

Detailed Description of the Drawing and Certain Embodiments

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment is depicted in which the lost andsubmerged object is an aircraft 44 which is located at the bottom 45 ofa large and deep body of water with a surface 42. A search vessel 40carries search device 41 which emits acoustic interrogation signals 43to be received by a target device 46. The target device responds withacoustic ping signals 47 to be received by the search device. Theinterrogations have a long range because the search vessel can supply alarge amount of power for their generation, but the ping signals have alimited range because of the limited power available to the targetdevice. The aircraft is a lost object because its location is unknownand the range of the ping signals is much smaller than the dimensions ofthe body of water. The aircraft is a submerged object because it iscovered by a body of water that prevents its location by longer rangeand more convenient methods such as visual search or exchange of radiosignals. The search vessel moves about the surface to locate theaircraft and if a ping signal is identified the aircraft is discoveredto be in a region limited at least by the range of the ping signal andsmaller than the entire body of water.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the target device which depicts otherdetails of this embodiment. A interrogation signal receiver 50 locatedat the target device with a power source 52 receives an interrogationsignal 43. The receiver is equipped with circuitry to measure parametersof the interrogation signal and produces an interrogation signal value53 which is supplied to power control circuitry 54 controlling the powerlevel of the transmitter 51. The receiver and transmitter of FIG. 2 areequipped respectively with suitable a suitable sensor and transducer toreceive and emit signals. In one contemplated embodiment depicted inthis figure the parameter of the interrogation signal measured is theintensity of the received signal and the power control varies the powerlevel of the ping signal to facilitate target device discovery by thesearch device while balancing this requirement with the requirement toconserve power usage to extend the life of the power source 52.

In this embodiment the circuitry to measure parameters of theinterrogation signal is a means to extract seeker information. Theinterrogation signal value contains seeker information. In some relatedembodiments the circuitry consists of time measuring counters or clockswith appropriate gates to determine time relationships between differentaspects of the signal. In other related embodiments the circuitryconsists of measuring devices for physical aspects of the interrogationsignal.

In another embodiment using the components depicted in FIG. 1 and FIG.2, the ping signal is returned with a preestablished pattern of delaysfrom the receipt of the interrogation signal. This pattern can be usedby the search device to distinguish ping signals from other sources ofperiodic noise. Other embodiments include modulating the interrogationsignal with periodic and non-periodic signals which can be detected bythe interrogation signal receiver and used to modulate the ping signalwith the same modulation or a modulation which is a function of that onthe interrogation signal.

The embodiments listed here are not intended to be inclusive and it caneasily be seen that there are many possible ways to modify the pingsignal as a function of seeker information extracted from theinterrogation signal in order to facilitate detection of the targetmodule by the search device.

There are other embodiments similar to the one described above where adifferent parameter of the interrogation signal is measured or adifferent variation is made to the ping signal. For example, pulseduration of the ping signal may be extended to allow discovery by asearch device at a greater range if the interrogation signal has a lowintensity. Emission of ping signals may be suppressed or reduced to alow pulse frequency if interrogation signal intensity fails to exceed apredetermined threshold.

In another embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 the interrogation signalreceiver extracts information which is not seeker information. Thereceipt itself of an interrogation signal is defined above to not beseeker information or a parameter of the interrogation signal. It isdefined to be interrogation signal information and is used in thisembodiment to determine the timing of ping signals. This allows pingsignals to be suppressed, delayed or transmitted with some otherparameter chosen to conserve power until interrogation signals arereceived. This increases the probability that a ping signal would bereceived by insuring that power is available when the presence of asearch device is indicated by the receipt of an interrogation signal.Other information may be combined with the interrogation signalinformation to make this determination by the target device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the search device which adds amicroprocessor to the components of FIG. 2. In a target device 46 aninterrogation signal 43 is received by the interrogation signal receiver50. The interrogation signal receiver passes seeker information 53 tothe microprocessor 62. The microprocessor determines the values ofparameters of the ping signal as a function of the seeker informationand passes control signals 63 which will implement these parameters tothe ping signal transmitter 51 which emits ping signals 47.

In this embodiment the receiver may contain circuitry to measureparameters of the interrogation signal serving as a means to extractseeker information or circuitry to decode digital information encoded inthe interrogation signal serving as a means to extract embedded seekerinformation. In some related embodiments the circuitry consists of timemeasuring counters or clocks with appropriate gates to determine timerelationships between different aspects of the signal. In other relatedembodiments the circuitry consists of measuring devices for physicalaspects of the interrogation signal. In still other embodiments thecircuitry comprises a separator to isolate an impeded coded signal fromthe interrogation signal with a decoder to provide decoded embeddedseeker information to the microprocessor.

In one embodiment corresponding to FIG. 3, the interrogation signalcontains an encoded request that the target device respond with pingsignals of a certain frequency which has been determined by the searchdevice to be relatively free of noise or otherwise especially suitablefor ping detection. The interrogation signal receiver is equipped withcircuitry to decode this request and pass it to the microprocessor. Themicroprocessor passes suitable control signals to the ping signaltransmitter to emit pings at that frequency. In this way a ping signalparameter is modified as a function of the embedded seeker informationin order to increase the probability and range of ping detection. Thereare contemplated other similar embodiments that receive differentrequests from the search device and modify different ping signalparameters such a ping signal repetition rate, ping signal duration orcomplex ping signal structure. These may be applied individually or incombination. In situations where there is a possibility of a signal froma source other than the target device being confused with a ping signal,the search device may request a variation in one or more parameters toeliminate or resolve that confusion.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the target device which adds an absoluteclock to the components of FIG. 3. In a target device 46 aninterrogation signal 43 is received by the interrogation signal receiver50. The interrogation signal receiver passes embedded seeker information72 to the microprocessor 62. The microprocessor determines the values ofparameters of the ping signal as a function of the seeker informationand information received from the absolute clock 71 and passes controlsignals 63 which will implement these parameters to the ping signaltransmitter 53 to the ping signal transmitter 51 which emits pingsignals 47. The absolute clock maintains the current time on the basisof a prior synchronization made directly or indirectly with a clockavailable to the search device.

In one embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 4, the search device encodesthe absolute time of emission of the interrogation signal into thatsignal. This embedded seeker information is received and passed to themicroprocessor of the target device. The transit time of theinterrogation signal pulse from the search device to the target deviceis calculated from the difference between the absolute clock timesavailable to the two devices. A ping signal is then scheduled to betransmitted to arrive at the search device at a predetermined delay orat a predetermined absolute time calculated on the basis of equality oranother assumed relationship between the transit times of interrogationand ping signals. In this way, the probability and range of pingdetection is increased in this embodiment.

Despite not knowing the location of the target device or the transittime of signals between the target device and the search device, thesearch device is enabled by the predetermined time for arrival of pingsignals to establish a specific time window to expect possible pingsignals. Signals arriving outside of that time window may then berejected as spurious and not genuine ping signals. The search devise isthen able to apply increased sensitivity or relaxed filtering criteriaof other kinds and still maintain the same ratio of spurious to genuinecandidate ping signals.

Those skilled in the use of signal processing technology will see thatthe ability to apply a narrow time window to a signal without loss tothe signal to be recognized will allow a substantial reduction in thenoise obscuring the desired signal and will allow recognition of asignal of substantially less energy. Signal analysis software is hereable to apply a narrow time window to the signal with a resultingreduction in signal obscuration by noise. This results in an increase inthe range at which a signal has any given probability of detection.

FIG. 5 adds to the components of FIG. 1 movement of the search vessel ina way to provide interrogation signals from multiple locations. Thesearch vessel is shown in multiple positions by means of solid lineswhile transmitting interrogation signals. The search vessel is shown ina projected later position with dashed lines.

Referring to FIG. 5, in one embodiment of the current invention, asearch vessel 40 with a search device 41 moves sequentially to multiplepositions on the surface of the water 42 and emits at each position aninterrogation signal 43. The interrogation signals contain embeddedseeker information including the time and location at which the signalis transmitted. The interrogation signals are received at the targetdevice 46 located at the lost object 44 which is on the bottom of thewater 45. The target device calculates a projected position of thesearch device 80 at a time when a ping signal 47 is to be scheduled toarrive.

At least four positions are required from interrogation signals receivedto calculate the relative location of the target device in thecoordinate system used in the interrogation signal embedded information.Four equations can be determined from the four search device positionsand the four times of transmission and receipt of the interrogationsignals. These equations can be solved to produce the values of fourunknown variables. Three of these variables are the relative location ofthe search and target devices in the three coordinate dimensions ofspace and one is the offset between the two clocks of the search andtarget devices. Further details of this type of calculation are given inthe referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,864 and are the principal method ofimplementing the well known global positioning system (GPS) receptiontechnology.

Referring to FIG. 3, this embodiment uses the microprocessor 62 to dothe calculation of the positions and to further calculate transit timesfor the signals, a projected position for the search device and a timeto transmit a ping signal to arrive at the search device at a time knownto the search device. This information is used to control thetransmission time of a ping signal and constitutes the modification of aparameter of the ping signal determined by embedded seeker informationfrom the received interrogation pulses. As described in otherembodiments, the ability of the search device to predict the arrivaltime of the ping signal in a narrow time window allows for detection ofthe ping signal with greater certainty and at a greater range.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the target device of an embodiment whichadds multiple sensors and transducers to the components of FIG. 3.Referring to FIG. 6 an interrogation signal 43 is received byinterrogation signal sensors 81 located at the target device 46. Aplurality of the interrogation signal sensors together constitute aninterrogation signal multi-sensor 83 which is connected to a multiphaseinterrogation signal receiver 85. This receiver extracts relative phaseinformation from each of the sensors and passes that information to themicroprocessor 62 as seeker information 53. In a related embodiment thereceiver contains electronic or computer circuitry which producesinterrogation signal direction information as a function of the phasedifferences between the sensors and passes information to themicroprocessor thereby constituting a means of extracting seekerinformation.

Multiple ping signal transducers 82 are collectively referred to as theping signal multi-transducer 87. The sensors and transducers arearranged in locations whose relative coordinates are known to themicroprocessor and the processor calculates phase information for use bythe transducers to produce a ping signal directed toward the searchdevice. This calculation may be made directly from one set of phaseinformation to the other when the interrogation signal multi-sensor andthe ping signal multi-transducer are similarly arrayed in space or mayinvolve calculation of an intermediate set of direction values in thecoordinate system of the target device. In a related embodiment notemploying a microprocessor, the ping signal transducers may be directlysupplied with information extracted from the interrogation signalsensors. The connections passing the ping timing and phase signal 86,and sources providing phase information to the transducers constitute ameans of modifying a parameter, in this case direction of emission, ofthe ping signal by employing seeker information. The ping signalmulti-transducer emits a ping signal 47 that is directed toward thesearch device, which is thereby increased in intensity in that directionand can be detected at an increased distance between the search deviceand the target device.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the target device of an embodiment whichadds a interrogation signal multi-sensor and local sensors foracceleration and for pressure to the components of FIG. 3. Referring toFIG. 7 an interrogation signal 43 is received by interrogation signalmulti-sensor 83 located at the target device 46. A plurality of theinterrogation signal sensors together constitute the interrogationsignal multi-sensor and are connected to a multiphase interrogationsignal receiver 85. This receiver extracts relative phase informationfrom each of the sensors and passes that information to themicroprocessor 62 as seeker information 53.

The microprocessor calculates the direction from which the interrogationsignal is received in the coordinate frame of the target device from therelative phases and the known relative positions of the sensors. Thereis also an accelerometer 91 located at the target device that providesthe microprocessor with the direction of the vertical directionestablished by gravity. This enables the microprocessor to calculate thedirection from which the interrogations signal has arrived in acoordinate frame established by gravity. A pressure sensor 92 providesthe microprocessor with information sufficient to calculate the depth atwhich the target device is submerged. In this embodiment the searchdevice is assumed to be on the surface of the body of water and thedistance from the search device and thereby the transit time of thesignals can be calculated from the depth of the water and the angle fromwhich the interrogation signal arrives with respect to the verticaldirection. A ping signal 47 is transmitted by the ping signaltransmitter 51 on the basis of control signals 63 at a time to arrive ata predictable delay from the transmission from the interrogation signalbased on this transmission time. The search device is thereby enabled toreceive the ping signal in a narrow and predictable time window asdescribed in other embodiments with a similar improvement in the abilityto detect the ping signal.

It can be seen that there are many other ways to combine interrogationsignal information, seeker information and embedded seeker informationwith information known at the target device from other sources to modifya ping signal and enhance the probability and range of ping signaldetection. The principles and spirit of the current inventive conceptare envisioned to apply to all forms of information which are producedby combing the information from the interrogation signal withinformation which is stored or gained from other sources and with anypreestablished protocols.

While the drawing and the detailed embodiments primarily illustrate theapplication of this inventive concept to the case of an aircraft lost inthe vast spaces of the ocean, it should be appreciated that otherobjects of search such as persons trapped by avalanches of snow, ormudslides or in collapsed mines may be in similar situations. Devices toaid in their location may be provided working on these principles.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of one scenario for use of the current invention bylaw enforcement. In the depicted scenario, a law enforcement agency isattempting to locate a person of interest that may be a crime boss whoworks only through agents and is very difficult to identify. Aminiaturized target device 100 is constructed with a transmitter 101, aprocessor 102 and a receiver 103. The device is hidden in a specialpencil that is designed to be undetected when placed in a briefcase. Asting operation is arranged with a meeting in a first meeting locationand the boss's agent 104 meets with undercover agents 105 to perpetratea criminal activity. One undercover law enforcement agent 106 drops thepencil into the criminal agent's briefcase 107.

At the end of the meeting the criminal agent leaves and travels to asecond meeting area perhaps using a ride hailing service. The criminalagent insures that he is not followed by traveling through hard to trackareas 109 which might be, for example, passing through open spaces,shopping malls or using a subway train. On reaching second meeting area111 the criminal agent gives the plans from the briefcase to the targetcrime boss 112. The device hidden in the pencil which is present at thesecond meeting is used in the manner described in FIG. 9. for the lawenforcement agency to locate the second meeting area.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of the search process in the scenario of FIG. 8. Thevarious techniques to use information from an interrogation signal tomodify the parameters of a ping can be used, but the depicted embodimentuses a radio version of the GPS methods similar to that embodied with anacoustic signal in FIG. 5. In the acoustic version the calculation ofthe timing of pings to arrive at a time predictable for the searcher isbased in large part on the calculated travel time for sound in anunderwater environment. Here with radio transmissions the delay is muchshorter but can still be used in the same matter to allow prediction ofthe ping arrival time and reduction of background noise. Another methodwould to take advantage of the possibility of synchronization of thepings to the interrogations with or without allowance for travel time.This would still allow the searcher to listen only in a restricted timewindow with the accompanying noise reduction and range improvement. Inthe scenario of FIG. 9, it is assumed that the uncertainty of the of thetravel of the criminal agent 104 through the uncertain path of FIG.8-109 would require search through an area large compared to the rangeof the transmitter FIG. 8-103 that produces pings but is still an areasmall enough to search. A search vehicle with a search device is shownin 4 positions of it's travel 114 to 117. In the first three positions114 to 116 it emits interrogation signals 118 with encoded informationconcerning the position and precise time of interrogation. The targetdevice calculates a time to produce a responding ping based on eithertravel time or simple synchronization. The target device produces a ping119 to arrive in a pre-determined relationship in time to theinterrogations at the search vehicle. This allows the search vehicle totime window filter the pings and detect a weaker and more distant ping.Other modifications, many of which are described herein, of the pingsignal to increase the distance at which a ping signal is detectable arepossible in this scenario.

In the depicted scenario the target device is assumed to be very lowpower for two reasons, first, to allow it to be small and easily hidden.The second reason is that a security minded target criminal organizationmay use a detector 120 for signals being transmitted to warn of possibletracking devices. Even with other methods such as spread spectrumtechniques and transmission only as a response to limitedinterrogations, limited power may be required. The device while beingsearch for may be obscured (submerged) by walls 121 or locatedunderground in a basement.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a different embodiment or scenario. It assumesthat a target unit was placed by an agent in a shipment of contraband tobe smuggled into the United States. The system is being used to locatethe shipment as it leaves the port of arrival. A truck is shown in threesuccessive positions 130, 131 and 132. The truck is carrying a cargowith the contraband which has received a tracking module prior toshipment from a foreign port. A fixed searching unit is here mounted ina police car which is waiting to identify a passing vehicle with atagged item. Three interrogation signals are sent from the search unitand received by the target unit in the passing truck. The target unituses data from embedded transmission times and relative receipt times toestimate the arrival time of a return ping signal 136 from an additionalposition 135. The ping is timed to arrive at the search unit with adelay predictable to the searcher. As explained in the description forFIG. 5 predictable timing allows detection even though the searcher doesnot know what truck may have the contraband. The ping signal range isvery limited because of requirements of stealth in hiding the targetunit and because packaging and the body of the truck obscure or submergethe target unit. Other modifications, many of which are describedherein, of the ping signal to increase the distance at which a pingsignal is detectable are possible in this scenario.

In some versions of this embodiment there is sufficient information toapply the GPS calculation methods especially if the track of the vehicleis curved. If this is not possible then over the short signal traveltimes synchronization of the pings with the interrogation signals issufficient to allow a great improvement in detectability. With a weaksignal the distance is limited and an improvement is important eventthough measured in feet or meters it is small. An accelerometer in thetarget unit can allow for assumption of a constant or known increment inspeed of the target unit and that information can be combined withinterrogation signal parameters to calculate the ping parameter to allowpredictable arrival time. Directional methods as described in thedescription of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 may also be applied.

FIG. 11 shows the interception of the truck 135 from FIG. 10 by thepolice car 133. Additional law enforcement vehicles 140 have assistedand target vehicle has been tracked by homing in on the target unit inthe cargo. The interception has occurred as a choke point 141 where theroad crossed a small bridge. FIGS. 10 and 11 show that law enforcementcan use the technology described in this application to hide a targetdevice that is difficult to detect and use it later to find andintercept criminal target cargo or persons. The interception can be byvehicles or by directed fire.

FIG. 12 shows additional embodiments with other methods of interceptinga vehicle or container with a target device. A vehicle 135 carrying atarget device 150 is shown. The vehicle and target device has beendiscovered by means of a modified ping and is being tracked by means ofthe pings or by additional signals from the device that have been turnedon. A drone 151 has been sent ahead of the vehicle with the targetdevice and has scattered tire puncturing devices or spikes 152 in itsprojected path. A second drone 153 has sent a paint or die markingdevice 154 to mark the vehicle. One has already made a mark 155 whichwill allow easy identification by pursuing vehicles. The marking devicecan be a simple “water balloon” or it can be a guided device which canuse guidance from the drone, a signal or ping from the target device156, or other source. In more aggressive scenarios the interceptingobject or device can do more than just mark the target vehicle but candisable 157, capture 158 or completely eliminate it 159,

I claim:
 1. A method of tracking lost objects comprising: placing afirst device with an object so that the first device will remain nearthe object when the object becomes lost; transmitting an interrogationsignal to the device; transmitting a ping signal from the first deviceto a search second device wherein a parameter of the ping signal ismodified as a function of at least one of the parameters of theinterrogation signal to substantially increase the distance between thesearch second-device and first device across which the search seconddevice can detect the ping signal from the distance between the searchsecond device and the first device across which the search second devicecan detect a ping signal using the parameter without the modification;and intercepting the object after receiving the ping signal and afterthe object has become lost.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein: the objectis a container and the first device is concealed inside the container.3. The method of claim 1 wherein: the object is a vehicle and the firstdevice is concealed inside the vehicle.
 4. The method of claim 3wherein: the interception of the object is by a second vehicle by meansof signals from the first device.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein: theping signal is transmitted only in response to an interrogation signalwhich indicates that successful detection of the ping signal isprobable.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein: the interception is by meansof a vehicle which is guided to approach the object by signals from thefirst device.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein: the object is submerged.8. A device for tracking a lost object comprising: a receiver to receivean interrogation signal; a transmitter to transmit a ping signal whereina parameter of the ping signal is modified as a function of at least oneof the parameters of the interrogation signal to substantially increasethe distance between the search second-device and first device acrosswhich the search second device can detect the ping signal from thedistance between the search second device and the first device acrosswhich the search second device can detect a ping signal from thetransmitter using the parameter without the modification; and atransmitter to transmit multiple signals to aid in the interception ofthe lost object after the object has been detected.
 9. The device ofclaim 8 wherein: the object is a container and the device is concealedinside the container.
 10. The device of claim 8 wherein: the object is avehicle and the device is concealed inside the vehicle.
 11. The deviceof claim 10 wherein: the interception of the object is by a secondvehicle by means of signals from the device.
 12. The device of claim 8wherein: the ping signal is transmitted only in response to aninterrogation signal which indicates that successful detection of theping signal is probable.
 13. The device of claim 8 wherein: theinterception is by means of a vehicle which is guided to approach theobject by signals from the first device.
 14. The device of claim 8wherein: the object is submerged.
 15. A method of intercepting a devicecomprising transmitting from a first transmitter an interrogation firstsignal to search for the device when the device in an unknown locationin an area substantially larger than the area which can be reached by asignal from a second transmitter at the device wherein the range of thefirst transmitter is larger than the range of return signals transmittedfrom the second transmitter without using parameters set as a functionof information provided by the receipt at the device of theinterrogation signal; receiving a second signal from the secondtransmitter wherein the distance that a signal can be detected issubstantially increased by a modification of a parameter of the signalas a function of a parameter of the interrogation signal; and guiding aninterceptor to the device by means of a multiplicity of signals from atleast one of the second transmitter and another transmitter at thedevice.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein: the second transmitter isconcealed inside the container.
 17. The method of claim 15 wherein: thesecond transmitter is concealed inside a vehicle.
 18. The method ofclaim 15 wherein: the interception of the object is by a second vehicle.19. The method of claim 15 wherein: the second signal is transmittedonly in response to an interrogation first signal which indicates thatsuccessful detection of the second signal is probable.
 20. The method ofclaim 15 wherein: the second transmitter is submerged.